Ledger



J. C. DAWSON.

LEDGER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 5. I919.

Patented May 18, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

IIIII'IIIIII InIJ'eflEr James J. C. DAWSON.

LEDGER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 5, 1919.

1,340,157. Patented y 18, 1920.

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LEDGER.'

APPLICATION FILED MAY 5, 19'19. 1,340,157. rammed May 18,1920.

3 SHEETS- SHEET 3.

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JAMES C. DAWSON, OF WEBSTER GROVES, MISSOURI.

LEDGER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

PatentedMay 18, 1920.

Application filed May 5, 1919. Serial No. 294,769.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Janus C. Dawson, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Webster Groves, county of St. Louis, and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ledgers, of which the following is a specification, and which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

The invention relates to loose leaf appliances and has for its object the provision of means to facilitate the handling of loose sheets with accuracy and despatch. The apparatus provided by the invention is particularly applicable for use in machine bookk eping systems wherein the individual ac counts are kept on the separate loose sheets of a loose leaf ledger and especially to those systems in which the entry of items relating to different accounts requires the separate removal of the corresponding sheets for introduction in the book-keeping machine.

As loose leaf lodgers are frequently constructed with independent covers and all of the filing posts mounted upon one of the covers, the temporary removal of a sheet or the introduction of a new sheet at a given place requires the removal of all of the sheets at one side of that place and their subsequent replacement upon the filing posts. Unless special provision is made therefor, diiiiculty is accordingly GXPQllenced in keeping the sheets in their proper order and alinement, while, if the alinement is not accurately retained, the replacement of the sheets upon the filing posts becomes slow and tedious. Furthermore, the difficulty of retaining the removed sheets in proper order and alinement is greatly creased by the requirement for temporarily removing a number of sheets at diiierent places in the ledger.

The present invention provides meansfor keeping the removed sheets in proper ahnement and for insuring that the removed sheets may not be accidentally disarranged with respect to their proper sequence in the ledger. To this end, the invention contemplates an improved ledger of the type inclicated and a support for the ledger having two seats upon which the sheets are respectively held by the filing posts of the ledger and by a separate set of removable sheet stacking posts. Any sheet in the ledger is thus made readily accessible by the transfer of sheets from one to the other of the said seats of the support. That is to say, if the ledger cover with which the filing posts are associated rests upon one of the seats of the support and the other cover is laid upon the other seat with the said sheet stacking posts protruding through the same, the stack of sheets may be manipulated to expose any sheet and the sheets will be held in alinement at all times except during the moment of their transfer from one set of posts to the other. Likewise, the reassembling of all parts of the ledger is instantly accomplished by removing the sheet stacking posts from the sheets and cover filed thereon and inverting the other cover with its associate posts and sheets over the first mentioned cover and sheets.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of loose leaf appliances embodying the features of improvement provided by the invention, some of the parts being broken away;

Fig. 2 is a detail central longitudinal sectional view showing the table illustrated in Fig. 1 provided with a different form of support;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the appliance illustrated in Fig. 1 but shows one of the covers and some of the loose leaves occupying a different position;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line b-i of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a detail elevation of two filing posts of different lengths, separated from other parts;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the loose leaf binder comprised in the appliance illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, in closed position and removed from other parts of the appliance;

Figs. 7 and 8 are detail plan sectional views taken on the planes indicated by the lines 7-7 and 88 respectively on Fig. 6; and

Fig. 9 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8, a different position of one of the filing posts being indicated by dotted lines. I

lhe apparatus provided by the invention comprises a loose leaf binder having separate covers 10, 11, between which are held a quantity of loose sheets 12. Preferably each of the covers 10, 11, includes a tubular binding strip 13 or a, to which is hingedly connected a swinging cover section 15. To facilitate the use of the binder with other parts of the apparatus the binding strips 13 and 14 are desirably made of a length which is only equal to the width of the contained sheets 12 while the cover sections 15 may be of such size as to project beyond the margins of the sheets, in the usual manner.

The drawings illustrate the loose leaf binder as being equipped with two filing posts 16, both of which are slidingly mounted in the binding strip 14 of the cover 11 and are readily removable therefrom. Removal of the filing posts 16 is permitted to provide for the introduction of longer posts, as 17 when a larger number of sheets 12 are to be held in the binder. In any case, the filing posts 16 or 17 are of sufficient length to extend through all of the contained sheets 12 and enter the binding strip 13 of the cover 10. Preferably each post 16 or 17 is formed with an enlarged head 18 at one end and with a circumferential channel 24. adjacent the opposite end. Under these circumstances the sliding of the posts through the binding strip 14 is controlled, as by mounting a pair of sliding plungers 19, 20, within the chamber of the said binding strip, in which case each of the plungers 19,

. v 20, frictionally engages one of the posts. As

shown, a coil spring 21 reacts between the two plungers 19, 20, and the sliding of each plunger is limited by a stud 22 which is fixed in the side walls of the binding strip 14 and passes through a slotted aperture 23 in the corresponding plunger. Normally, the frictional engagement of the outer end of each plunger 19, 20,'with the adjacent filing post, as 16, resists the sliding movement of the posts through the binding strip 14. On the other hand, when either post has been withdrawn to the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 9, the end of the adjacent plunger 20 enters the corresponding channel 24 to prevent accidental removal of the post. Nevertheless, owing to the fact that the plungers 19, 20, are advanced by a spring, as 21, and the walls of the channels 24 are rounded, a sharp outward pull upon either post will suffice to disengage the end of the plunger 19 or 20 from the channel 24 and permit removal of the post.

The binding strip 13 is equipped with 51 key controlled locking plate 25 for engagement with the filing posts 16 or 17 in a well known manner. To provide for some variation in the position of the cover 10 upon the posts 16 or 17 without permitting the ends of the posts to project through this cover, the binding strip 13 is preferably thickened by the application of a solid strip 26 (Fig. 4) thereto, upon the outer face of the same. This thickening of the binding strip 13 also renders it serviceable for the attachment thereto of an index, as 27 (Fig. 6), upon its rear edge.

When anyone of the sheets 12 is to be re moved from the binder, as for the purpose of making an entry thereon with a bookkeeping machine (not shown), the binder preferably rests upon a flat table generally designated 28. In the form of construction illustrated in Fig. 1 the table 28 is carried by a frame 29 having casters 30 and intended to rest upon the floor. In Figs. 2 and 4 the table 28 is shown as being formed with a socket 31 upon its underside. This socket receives and is rotatable upon the upper end of a screw threaded post 32 which is adjustably mounted in the outer end of a swinging bracket arm 33. It will be understood that the swinging bracket arm 33 may project laterally from the supporting frame (not shown) of the said book-keeping machine.

The table 28 is preferably constructed with a centralupright partition 34, thereby providing separate seats 35, 36, for the two covers 10, 11, of the binder, one at each side of the said partition. As the entire binder is first to be placed upon one of the seats, as 36, with the back cover 11 of the binder downward, this seat is preferably apertured, as at 37, (Fig. 4), in line with each of the filing posts, as 16. The other seat, as 35, is formed with upwardly facing sockets 38, each of which is adapted to removably receive a pointed sheet stacking post 39. The sheet stacking posts 39 are preferably equal in number and spaced in accordance with the number and spacing of the filing posts. as 17. Assuming that the binder has been unlocked by releasing the locking plate 25 (Fig. 7) before being placed upon the seat 36, the cover 10 and sheets 12 are readily transferred from the seat 36 to the seat 35 'where they are filed upon the sheet stacking posts 39.

In the ordinary use of the apparatus, the cover 10 is first transferred to the seat 35 by being lifted over the partition 34 and threaded upon the sheet stacking posts 39. The filing posts 16 are then depressed through the table openings 37 to bring the upper ends of the posts substantially flush with the top sheet 12. Depression of these posts facilitates the removal of a quantity of the sheets 12 therefrom, and all of the sheets 12, above the first sheet upon which an entry is to be made, are now lifted over the partition 34 and threaded upon the posts 39. The sheet which is thus exposed upon the seat 36 is then removed and after being used for the purpose of making entry thereon, is threaded upon the posts 39 over the sheets which have already been transferred to these posts. The filing posts 16 are again depressed to bring their upper ends substantially flush with the sheet which is now exposed upon the seat 36, and the operations are repeated until all of the sheets have been transferred to the seat 35. The sheet stacking posts 39 may then be withdrawn from the sockets 38. This permits of the cover 11 being placed over the pile of sheets 12 on the seat 35, preferably when the filing posts 17 have been withdrawn to project outwardly from the cover 11 for substantially their full length. WVhen the cover 11 has been applied to the top of the pile of sheets with the filing posts 16 in this position, the posts are pressed downwardly through the filing apertures of the sheets to enter the binding strip 13 of the cover 10. The binder may then be locked and removed from the table.

To facilitate the transfer of sheets from the seat 36 to the seat 35 of the table 28, the upright partition is preferably equipped with over-hanging guides 40. As shown, two of these guides are employed for engagement with the upper and lower edges of the sheets respectively. For this purpose the guides are spaced in accordance with the width of the sheets and each guide is se- .cured against that side of the partition 34L which faces the seat 36. Under these circumstances the upper end, as &1, of each guide projects over the partition to the plane of the sheet stacking posts and, being pivoted to the upright portions 40 of the guide, may be thrown back out of the way, when the front cover 10 is to be placed on the posts 39. It has also been found that the engagement of the sheets with the posts is facilitated if these posts are of sulficient length to extend somewhat above the level of the top of the partition 34. As the binding strips 13 and 1 1 of the covers 10, 11, are equal in length with the width of the sheets 12, the covers are readily inserted between the guides 40. a

I claim as my invention:

1. A loose leaf appliance comprising, in combination, separate front and backcovers, filing posts carried by the back cover, means for detachably connecting the front cover with the said filing posts, and a second set of filing posts 'detachably engageable with the front cover when the said front cover ias been disconnected from the filing posts of the first mentioned set.

2. A loose leaf appliance comprising, in combination, separate front and back covers, filing posts carried by the back cover, means for detachably connecting the front cover with the said filing posts, and a second set of filingposts conforming in number and snacing with the filing posts of the first mentioned set, detachably engageable with the front cover when the said front cover has been disconnected from the filing posts of'the first mentioned set.

3. A loose leaf appliance comprising, in combination, a pair of separate covers, a filing post having longitudinal sliding movement through one of the covers, means for limiting the inward sliding movement of the post through the last mentioned cover, and means for detachably connecting the other cover with the post.

4-. A loose leaf appliance comprising, in combination, a pair of separate covers, a filing post having longitudinal sliding movement through one of the covers, means for limiting the inward sliding movement of the post through the last mentioned cover, a yielding stop normally limiting the outward sliding movement of the post through the last mentioned cover but permitting complete removal of the post from the said cover, and means for detachably connecting the other cover with the post.

5. A loose leaf appliance comprising, in combination, a cover, a filing post having longitudinal sliding movement through the cover, and a spring advanced member carried by the cover and engaging the post to frictionally resist its said sliding movement.

(5. A loose leaf appliance comprising, in combination, a cover, a filing post having longitudinal sliding movement through the cover, a spring advanced member carried by the cover and engaging the post to frictionally resist its said sliding movement, and means for limiting the said sliding movement of the post in one direction.

7. A loose leaf appliance comprising, in combination, a cover, a filing post having longitudinal sliding movement through the cover and a yielding stop normally limiting the said movement of the post through the cover in one direction but permitting complete removal of the post from the cover by continued movement in the same direction.

8. A loose leaf appliance comprising, in combination, a cover, filing post having longitudinal sliding movement through the cover, means positively limiting the said movement of the post through the cover in one direction and a yielding stop normally limiting the said movement of the post through the cover in the other oirection but permitting complete removal of the post from the cover by continued movement in the last mentioned direction.

9. In a loose leaf appliance, in combination, a cover, a plurality of filing posts of different lengths selectively engageable with the cover for longitudinal sliding movement therethrough and a yielding stop carried by the cover and engageable with any one of the said posts to normally limit the said sliding movement of the same in one direction but permitting complete removal of the post from the cover by continued movement in the said direction.

10. In a loose leaf appliance, in combination, a cover, a plurality of filing posts of different lengths selectively engageable with the cover for longitudinal sliding move ment therethrough, a yielding stop carried by the cover and engageable with any one of the said posts to normally limit the said sliding movement of the same in one direction but permitting complete removal of the post from the cover by continued movement in the same direction and means positively limiting the sliding movement of the posts through the cover in the other direction.

11. In a loose leaf appliance, in combination, a pair of separate covers, a plurality of filing posts of different lengths selectively engageable with one of the covers for longitudinal sliding movement through the same, a yielding stop carried by the last mentioned cover and engageable with any one of the said posts to normally limit the said sliding movement of the post in one direction but permitting complete removal of the post from the said cover by continued movement in the same direction, means positively limiting the said sliding movement of the posts in the other direction, and means for detachably connecting the other cover with any one of the said posts.

12. A loose leaf appliance comprising, in combination, a cover, a filing post having longitudinal sliding movement through the cover, an apertured table forming a seat for removably receiving the cover with the filing post registering with the table aperture and a spring advanced member carried by the cover and engaging the post to frictionally resist its sliding movement through the cover and table aperture.

13. A loose leaf appliance comprising, in combination, a cover, a set of filing posts rising from the cover, a table providing two seats of equal size, one thereof serving to removably receive the said cover, and a second set of filing posts conforming in number and spacing with the filing posts of the first mentioned set rising from that part of the said table constituting the other of the said seats.

14. A loose leaf appliance comprising, in combination, a cover, a set of filing posts rising from the cover, a table providing two seats of equal'size, one thereof serving to removably receive the said cover, and a second set of filing posts conforming in number and spacing with the filing posts of the first mentioned set removably mounted in that part of the table constituting the other of the said seats.

15. A loose leaf appliance comprising, in combination, a cover, a set'of filing post's, each slidingly mounted in the cover for longitudinal sliding'movement through the same, an apertured table providing two seats of equal size, one thereof serving to removably receive the said cover with the said filing posts in line with the table apertures, and a second set of filing posts conforming in number and spacing with the filing posts of the first mentioned set removably mounted in that part of the table constituting the other of the said seats.

16. A loose leaf appliance comprising, in combination, a cover, a set of filing posts removably mounted in the cover, a table providing two seats of equal size, one thereof serving to removably receive the said cover and a set of post receiving sockets conforming in number and spacing with the said filing posts formed in that part of the table constituting the other of the said seats.

17. A loose leaf appliance comprising, in combination, a pair of separate equal covers, a set of filing postsmounted in one of the covers, means for detachably connecting the other cover with the said filing posts, a table providing two seats of equal size, one thereof serving to removably receive that one of the said covers in which the said filing posts are mounted, and a second set of filing posts conforming in number and spacing with the posts of the first mentioned set rising from that part of the table constituting the other of the said seats.

18. A loose leaf appliance comprising, in combination, a pair of separate equal covers, a set of filing posts each slidably mounted in one of the covers for longitudinal movement through the same,-means for detachably connecting the other cover with the said filing posts, an apertured table providing two seats of equal size, one thereof serving to removably receive that one of the said covers in which the said filing posts are mounted with the said filing posts in line with the table apertures and a second set of filing posts conforming in number and spacing with the filing posts of the first mentioned set removably mounted in that part of the table constituting the other of the said seats.

19. A loose leaf appliance comprising, in combination, a table, an upright partition centrally dividing the table, a set of filing posts mounted in'the table adjacent the partition at one side of the same and extending substantially to the level of the top of the partition and a sheet guiding flange extending vertically over the other side of the partition and horizontally over the top of the partition toward the plane of the said filing posts.

JAMES C. DAWSON. 

